Kickstarter Success Moves TempehSure Forward

Posted on July 15, 2016

This spring’s TempehSure™ Protein Pod Kickstarter campaign was a huge success! The project was fully funded in less than a month and raised $100,204 in pledges. According to Kickstarter statistics, only 2.9% of projects are successfully funded at $100,000 or more.

Home cooks and chefs can use the TempehSure™ Protein Pod to make tempeh with a variety of legumes, grains and nuts, such as soybeans, chickpeas, black beans, lentils, barley and peanuts. Flax, sesame or chia seeds can also be incorporated for additional nutrition.

Adding tempeh to people’s diets aligns with the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which advises a varied diet rich in nutrient-dense foods, produce, grains, dairy (low-fat and fat-free), lean meats and other proteins.

“We’re passionate about healthy eating and treading lightly on the planet. As vegetarians, we’re constantly challenged to find fresh high-protein options and have talked with many non-vegetarians who wanted to cut back on animal protein but found it difficult,” says Steven DuPuis, founder of the DuPuis Group, a branding and venture/incubation firm that launched TempehSure as an incubation project. “With TempehSure, people can be confident that they’re eating a pure food that’s truly good for them, good for the environment and good for the world.”

The firm chose Kickstarter for funding as a response to consumer interest generated from survey responses and Tempeh Girls, an affiliated website dedicated to the benefits of cooking with tempeh. Additionally, trends show that vegan diets and products are gaining traction on social and traditional media, according to Eric Pierce, director of strategy and insights, New Hope Natural Media, which produced the 2015 Nutrition Business Journal Food Tribes Report.

The TempehSure system is available for pre-order and is expected to begin shipping the fourth quarter of 2016.